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THBU.S. Grant Staff Officer, Orlando Ross, Civil War Archive Incl. Photographs, Correspondence, & More
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
With offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, Cowan’s holds over 40 auctions each year, with annual sales exceeding $16M. We reach buyers around the globe, and take pride in our reputation for integrity, customer service and great results. A full-service house, Cowan’s Auctions specializes in Am...Read more
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About Auction
LiveNov 17, 2017 - Nov 18, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (372)
- Lot Description
Lot of approx. 80 items, comprised of 25 Civil War and post-war CDVs of Orlando Ross, his family, fellow soldiers, generals, and other government officials; approx. 25 letters, documents, business cards, tickets, and other ephemera, most post-Civil War; 30 GAR and reunion-related souvenirs, including Ross' "Potomac GAR" cap, a pair of miniature GAR canteens, 11 ribbons, GAR badge, 15 assorted GAR buttons, and a pair of white gloves.
Orlando H. Ross was born on December 5, 1835, in Bethel, OH, which is 12 miles from Point Pleasant, the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant. Ross and Grant were cousins. Ross survived the Civil War, living to age 56. He died October 13, 1892 in Washington, DC, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1861, Ross was the Post Office mail agent between Cairo and Paducah and was then given responsibility for military mail for the Army of the Tennessee. He enlisted October 1, 1862 as a 2nd Lieutenant and was commissioned into Co. D, Illinois 20th Infantry on November 26, 1862. On March 11, 1863, he was discharged for promotion and commissioned into the US Volunteers as Captain and Aide de Camp on the Staff of General U.S. Grant. He served Grant through September 7, 1864. After the War, Ross worked in the Post Office and Treasury Departments. He was a member of the Grand Army and the Loyal Legion, occupying important positions in both organizations.
The archive features 4 photographs of Orlando Ross, one a full-standing carte of Ross as Captain, taken during the war, verso date of 1863 and studio credit to Dewey, Gibson & Waitz, Cincinnati, plus a trio of post-war tintype portraits of Ross in civilian dress. A carte of Ross' wife is also included, with a signed inscription from Ross on verso. Additional photographs are housed in a leather-bound CDV album, with many of the cartes autographed by the sitter. The album contains 6 war-date CDVs of officers, including: George F. French, Surgeon, US Volunteers Medical Staff, verso credit to Barr & Young, Army Photographers, Fort Pickering, Memphis, TN (signed); studio portrait of a seated 1st lieutenant, with verso inscription, although first name difficult to decipher, "Jke(?) N. Anderson, Act. Apt. Adjt. Genl., 2nd Brig., 2nd Div., Army W.Va."; a mustached colonel signed "E.D. Osland" (?), Barr & Young blindstamp; colonel tentatively identified as "Col. Driff - I think," by Barr & Young; a "Lieut. James" (?); and commercially printed carte of General Philip Sheridan.
Accompanied by 13 CDVs of men in civilian dress, including possible immediate post-war views of veterans as well as relatives, with many signed and/or inscribed. Subjects include: Ed C. Abdill who had possible service in the IN 11th and 120th Infantries and IN 1st Cavalry; Lewis Wikoff, possibly of the PA 169th Infantry, by Anson, NY; Edward D. Kittoe, Surgeon US Volunteers Medical Staff, by Hesler, Chicago (signed); David G. Barnitz, credit to Landy, Cincinnati (signed). Research indicates that Barnitz served as an agent to the Treasury Department during the war; and signed views of Hiram Aldrich, Charles Albright (signed as "Mail Agent"), W.E. Ketcham, Thomas Garden, as well as two indecipherable names.
Highlighted documents include:
A typed document from the First Assistant Post Master General, Alex W. Randall. 1p, 7.5 x 9.75 in. From the Post Office Department, Appointment Office. April 7, 1866. Document reiterates the rules and proper procedures for mail agents in the Army of the Republic, mentioning specifically that "mails must not be left for a moment or exposed by day or by night." Document ends by reminding agents that disobedience of orders will be cause for removal.
A handwritten letter signed, "Geo(?) B Johnson" from the Cincinnati office of The Western Methodist Book Concern. 1p, 8 x 12.5 in., Cincinnati, OH. April 10, 1889. Letter describes Ross as "a reliable and unfaltering Republican, always supporting the principles of the party, and doing that which would promote its interests."
A handwritten letter to Mrs. O.H. Ross, signed, "Frederick D. Grant." 5pp, approx. 5 x 8 in., "New York." October 29, 1894. Letter is in answer to Mrs. Ross's questions about her husband's service during the last half of the year 1861 and the first half of the year 1862, as she was probably seeking to secure his pension. Grant writes that Ross was "continually on duty with the mail boats," in Cairo, Illinois during the latter half of 1861 until Grant departed at Fort Henry some time in February of 1862, no longer serving as a witness to Ross' service. Grant joined back up with the army in the Fall of 1862, at which point he says Ross was "a captain and wore the uniform of his rank."
Wear to cartes typical, with some light to even toning. Some with corner and edge wear. Some with light, scattered spotting. Few trimmed views.Condition
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